Cagliari's multiethnic school celebrates its first bell with an inclusive celebration.

Flags of all nationalities hung around the school grounds. And pencils with flags from around the world were distributed to the children on the first day of school.

It's the initiative of a spontaneous committee of parents at the Satta Primary School in downtown Cagliari. A call for integration in the city's most multicultural school, with students of all nationalities. "It's a response to what happened a year ago, when some parents complained about too many foreigners in the classroom. It was an unpleasant incident. The principal rightly said: 'What's the problem?' It's a plus."

A demonstration of peace in a time of tension and conflict: "We are in Cagliari's most multicultural neighborhood," continues another mother, Valeria Mura, "in a school attended by Cagliari residents, but also by many other citizens from around the world. We wanted to show that, if you want, you can challenge differences and overcome friction. With everything that's happening in the world, we want to send a positive signal."

And then everyone was happy: children in class with pencils bearing the flag of their parents' country of origin. Not necessarily: they could also bear the symbol of their classmate's family's place of origin. An international and multicultural celebration. Each child, led in front of a world map, is asked to indicate their family's country of origin. After the children enter, they move to Piazza del Carmine with the official welcome of the young first-grade students, complete with a roll of drums for each student called by the teachers: surnames from Sardinia, but also from around the world.

"The teachers at Satta," explains principal Elizabeth Piras Trombi Abibatu, "have worked since the beginning to welcome students entering the first grade. Our students come from all over the world, including Asia and Africa. Some parents choose Satta," the principal explains, "precisely because it's multiethnic, and so they wanted to send a message."

(Unioneonline)